U.S. lawmakers seemed shocked, shocked that U.S. Olympic athletes will be wearing uniforms that were made in China.

Have they checked their own closets lately?

These days, it’s tough to find many articles of clothing — not to mention athletic shoes — that are still made in the U.S.. Most companies have outsourced such work to manufacturers overseas, where labor costs are considerably less than in this country.

Many of those lost jobs were in the South, where the textile industry was once a pillar in the region’s economy. Sad to say, they’re probably not coming back.

But what is troubling is that the U.S. Olympic Committee apparently didn’’t make much of an effort to see if it could find some spiffy duds made here.

But here’s the rub. Ralph Lauren, the company that made the uniforms, apparently donated them to the USOC. The USOC is a private organization. It doesn’t have money to burn. It relies on corporate sponsorships and contributions.

If Ralph Lauren wants to outfit America’s team and save the USOC a bundle, it’s tough to argue against it. The question, however, is whether the USOC did its due diligence in specifying ahead of time that it wanted clothing made in the USA. Companies can find U.S. workers for these jobs if they look hard enough.

Now, on to an important fashion question: What’s up with those berets?

U.S. soldiers can wear berets and still look ready to fight at a moment’s notice. They wear them with attitude. It works.

Not so America’s athletes.

In their prepster/oo-la-la getup, they look ready to join Skip and Muffy at the yacht club for cocktails, not compete against the rest of the world for gold medals. That’s a fashion fumble.

— Savannah (Ga.)
Morning News